March 19, 2017

Donald J. Trump is nuts (like that's news?)

Something has got to give.

We're only two months into 48 months of a U.S. presidency marked by the collective splendor of the Tyler, Pierce, Buchanan, Andrew Johnson and George W. Bush administrations. Courtesy of Donald Trump, whenever we aren't being cursed by other nations, we are a laughingstock. After decades of the White House as the uncontested symbol of global leadership, Germany's chancellor is now commonly referred to as the leader of the free world. Trump schmoozes with tyrants and historical foes, infuriates allies, and, at home, is further alienating all but the narrowest of a willfully blind, developmentally disabled, mean-spirited base.

Just prior to our secretary of state's visit to China this week, the top diplomat's boss tweeted that the host nation had "done little to help" resolve the North Korean impasse — which, if it is to be resolved peacefully, will require the utmost of bilateral cooperation. A pouty, accusatory president teeing up unilateral resentment was the act of an ADHD adolescent off his meds. In the delicate world of international diplomacy, not even justifiable resentment could justify such a self-wounding stupidity.

Meanwhile, at a finance ministers' meeting in Baden-Baden, Germany, Trump's treasury secretary commenced the talks by declaring that "current trade rules were unfair to the United States, positioning the administration against virtually all the other participants," some of whom "complained privately that the American delegation rode into this stately spa and casino town … determined to shake up the existing order but without any clear idea of what should replace it." Here, the administration's adolescence regresses into toddlerhood. We want what we want, damn the torpedoes and to hell with everyone else; problem is, we can't really articulate what it is that we want, or how it is that packing up our marbles will benefit anyone, including those who seem to have lost theirs.

And last week alone, there was even more than that. Having already enraged our closest ally (the administration's charge of British-intelligence complicity in the asinine delusion of Obamian wiretapping was "utterly ridiculous," said our, ahem, friend), Trump, while hosting the leader of the free world, insulted and embarrassed her. His behavior simulated that of a drunken frat brat; just watching the reckless delinquent demean himself before a lady leader of true and towering stature made every U.S. adult feel nothing but shame for their country at large.

Just as shameful last week was the Trump administration's release of its stupendously inhumane budget, which only an antisocial, borderline-personality-disordered voter could love. I mean, for heaven's sake, even some personality-disordered congressional Republicans couldn't stomach the malignity of it all.

Two months, merely two months of 48, and the above collection of national degradation embodied merely one week of the two. Something will have to give. Our plunge into squalid pettiness and international disgrace has even the straightest of journalists, such as the Washington Post's Dan Balz, penning unconcealed condemnations of the Trump administration's baseness — and its inevitable collision with decency. "A prudent president … would find ways to avoid needless controversy," writes Balz. "Not President Trump. He’s doing exactly the opposite, and the credibility gap continues to grow." Adds two NYT reporters: "Trump’s agenda [has been] subsumed by problems of his own making…. [I]t has … become clear that Mr. Trump [is] an agitator incapable of responding proportionately to any slight" — or intelligently, or maturely, addressing any national problem or international predicament.

In short, it would seem that our president is clinically unhinged — bats, bonkers. After 18 months of demonstrable instabilities on the campaign trail, he has, within only two months as president, further revealed himself to be a delusional, emotionally besotted Tricky Dick staggering his way down WH halls and murmuring to ghosts. Put even shorter: Donald J. Trump is nuts. And if something is to give, it'll almost have be the 25th Amendment — a true gift of historic proportions.

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Donald J. Trump is nuts (like that's news?)

Something has got to give.

We're only two months into 48 months of a U.S. presidency marked by the collective splendor of the Tyler, Pierce, Buchanan, Andrew Johnson and George W. Bush administrations. Courtesy of Donald Trump, whenever we aren't being cursed by other nations, we are a laughingstock. After decades of the White House as the uncontested symbol of global leadership, Germany's chancellor is now commonly referred to as the leader of the free world. Trump schmoozes with tyrants and historical foes, infuriates allies, and, at home, is further alienating all but the narrowest of a willfully blind, developmentally disabled, mean-spirited base.

Just prior to our secretary of state's visit to China this week, the top diplomat's boss tweeted that the host nation had "done little to help" resolve the North Korean impasse — which, if it is to be resolved peacefully, will require the utmost of bilateral cooperation. A pouty, accusatory president teeing up unilateral resentment was the act of an ADHD adolescent off his meds. In the delicate world of international diplomacy, not even justifiable resentment could justify such a self-wounding stupidity.

Meanwhile, at a finance ministers' meeting in Baden-Baden, Germany, Trump's treasury secretary commenced the talks by declaring that "current trade rules were unfair to the United States, positioning the administration against virtually all the other participants," some of whom "complained privately that the American delegation rode into this stately spa and casino town … determined to shake up the existing order but without any clear idea of what should replace it." Here, the administration's adolescence regresses into toddlerhood. We want what we want, damn the torpedoes and to hell with everyone else; problem is, we can't really articulate what it is that we want, or how it is that packing up our marbles will benefit anyone, including those who seem to have lost theirs.

And last week alone, there was even more than that. Having already enraged our closest ally (the administration's charge of British-intelligence complicity in the asinine delusion of Obamian wiretapping was "utterly ridiculous," said our, ahem, friend), Trump, while hosting the leader of the free world, insulted and embarrassed her. His behavior simulated that of a drunken frat brat; just watching the reckless delinquent demean himself before a lady leader of true and towering stature made every U.S. adult feel nothing but shame for their country at large.

Just as shameful last week was the Trump administration's release of its stupendously inhumane budget, which only an antisocial, borderline-personality-disordered voter could love. I mean, for heaven's sake, even some personality-disordered congressional Republicans couldn't stomach the malignity of it all.

Two months, merely two months of 48, and the above collection of national degradation embodied merely one week of the two. Something will have to give. Our plunge into squalid pettiness and international disgrace has even the straightest of journalists, such as the Washington Post's Dan Balz, penning unconcealed condemnations of the Trump administration's baseness — and its inevitable collision with decency. "A prudent president … would find ways to avoid needless controversy," writes Balz. "Not President Trump. He’s doing exactly the opposite, and the credibility gap continues to grow." Adds two NYT reporters: "Trump’s agenda [has been] subsumed by problems of his own making…. [I]t has … become clear that Mr. Trump [is] an agitator incapable of responding proportionately to any slight" — or intelligently, or maturely, addressing any national problem or international predicament.

In short, it would seem that our president is clinically unhinged — bats, bonkers. After 18 months of demonstrable instabilities on the campaign trail, he has, within only two months as president, further revealed himself to be a delusional, emotionally besotted Tricky Dick staggering his way down WH halls and murmuring to ghosts. Put even shorter: Donald J. Trump is nuts. And if something is to give, it'll almost have be the 25th Amendment — a true gift of historic proportions.